Facing a fall COVID surge, Tam calls on Canadians to get their bivalent booster shots
CBC
Canada's chief public health officer said Tuesday that Canadians should get their dose of a recently authorized bivalent vaccine to stave off a fall resurgence of COVID-19 — a development that could prompt the return of some pandemic-related restrictions.
At an appearance before MPs on the Commons health committee, Dr. Theresa Tam said the decision to restore COVID measures — such as mandatory masking and school closures — will fall largely to the provinces and territories.
The federal government did away with its pandemic-related border measures earlier this month, but warned that they could return if the pandemic situation deteriorates.
Tam defended the past use of these measures under questioning from the Opposition Conservatives Tuesday.
She said the U.S. has seen three times more COVID-related deaths per capita than Canada because it took a more permissive approach to the virus.
"The outcome for Canada has been relatively good," Tam said.
More than 45,000 people have died here from COVID-related complications.
Pointing to a Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) study, Tam said that the number of Canadian deaths could have been many times higher in the absence of restrictions and widely available vaccines.
It might turn out to be prudent to bring back some of those restrictions to shore up Canada's fragile health care system, Tam said.
"If any public health measures are put in place, [they are] there to buy time," she said. "It's a balance between reducing transmission and its impacts and then of course the potential negative effects of these measures on a society."
If Canadians want to avoid more aggressive pandemic measures, Tam said, getting "up to date" on their vaccine doses is the best option.
"Overall, population immunity may be falling and leaving us less protected," Tam said. "Hospitalizations are elevated or actually increasing in some areas and this could be an early sign of a fall resurgence."
The bivalent shots developed by Moderna and Pfizer protect against the original strain of the virus and the Omicron variants, which are dominant in Canada.
Both have been authorized by Health Canada, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory bodies.
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